This application claims the priority of German Application No. 102 29 400.3, filed Jun. 29, 2002, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
A commonly owned application Ser. No. 10/608,444, filed Jun. 29, 2003, based on German application of German Application No. 102 29 401.1 filed on Jun. 29, 2002, describes related subject matter and the same is incorporated herein by reference thereto to the extent that the disclosure aids in understanding the present invention.
The present invention concerns the structure for a vehicle, specifically a passenger vehicle containing a passenger cell with a windshield frame, which is attached to a panel structure of the passenger cell.
A prior structure described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,632 has been designed for a passenger vehicle with an open body without fixed members between a windshield frame and rear structure. The windshield frame consists of a surrounding tubular metal member covered with foam material and an enveloping surface.
European Patent Document No. EP 0 286 058 A2 deals with a self-supporting structural element of composite material for a vehicle structure, that is formed by a panel piece. This panel piece has a transition piece bordered by surface layers. This structural element produces a good strength-to-weight ratio.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,000 discloses a high-strength, glass-fiber reinforced component for an aircraft wing, where the wing is provided with a panel section that contains a core e.g. honeycomb structure embedded in deck panels.
It is a purpose of the invention to design a structure for a vehicle, specifically a passenger vehicle, including a passenger cell with a high-strength windshield frame that can easily be integrated in the structure.
The present invention meets said purpose by providing a structure for a passenger vehicle, containing a passenger cell with a windshield frame, which is attached to a panel structure of the passenger cell. Additional advantageous invention feature details are described herein and in the claims.
The invention offers major advantages in that the panel structure and the windshield frame consist of basically the same high-strength non-metallic material—fiber reinforced plastic, carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). Besides resulting in an identical-material design of different structural components, it also facilitates a particularly stable windshield frame. Furthermore, the choice of this material allows optimization of manufacturing processes. On the side of the panel structure, the windshield frame is provided with flanges held in position by adhesive bonding to a first and a second panel section of the panel structure, which contributes to a functional connection of said structural components.
Support columns are provided inside the hollow spaces of the upright columns of the windshield frame, which, combined with the columns of the windshield frame, increase passenger safety during multiple rollovers of the passenger vehicle, in that the support columns will be effective in addition to the windshield frame columns. The metal support columns are connected with retainer plates attached thereto and supported by the panel structure. The retainer plates are bolted to said panel structure.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.